Vegetable Gardening:Garden Tips- Composting # 2

Decomposing Hot Compost Pile

Friends, Fertilizers are very important to feeding your plants. They add missing nutrients in the form of NPK ( Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium : read more at garden tips: part one fertilizers

Compost adds organic matter to your soil and improves the drainage capacity in tight soils. Air penetration is increased so that beneficial microbes can flourish . Your kitchen has lots of great items to add to your compost pile. Herbs, grains, cereal boxes, vegetables, coffee grounds, tea bags are just a few of the many items that will supply the green ingredients for your compost pile.

You can speed up the decomposition of your compost by covering it with black plastic. Heat will build up and increase the composting process. Do not forget to add a little moisture between the layering of brown and green materials as mentioned in part one of this series.

Vegetable Gardening:Garden Tips- Composting # 1

Black Gold Compost

Hi there, Do you Compost ? Well you should. Compost is broken down organic materials of the soil by microorganisms that give the sweet smelling rich, light, dark soil that feeds your soil. Have you heard the term (Black Gold) ? ]
Compost consists of two type of materials brown and green. The brown carbon rich matter are things such as dead leaves, straw, sawdust, paper and hay. Green nitrogen rich materials include grass clippings, manure, coffee grounds, and fruit and vegetable peels. You want to aim for a balance of brown and green material.

To Make a hot compost pile you can start with a area 3 ft. by 3ft. so that you are able to stick a pitch fork or shovel in and turn your pile over. Start layering the pile with the browns and green materials.( ie  one layer of brown material then on top of that another layer of green and the brown and so on.....) You want to add moisture between layers.

You will want to turn your compost pile every 3 days. You should also purchase a compost thermometer to check the temperature. It should start around 120 degrees and go up from there. If you stay up with your pile turning and adding more materials you will have rich compost in approximately 2-8 weeks !

Gardening for the beginner: Fall Planting 2

Burlap Bag Potatoes

Friends, Did you know that Burlap bags make great growing containers for root plants, like potatoes, carrots, and beets. Fill the bag with soil, tie it closed, and place it in a sunny spot.  Next , cut holes in the bag and plant the crops. Make sure to water it often. To harvest, just cut the bag open

Gardening for the Beginner: Fall Plantings 1

Hello, did you can grow vegetables after spring--Summer schedule. You can grow hardy vegetables like broccoli, cabbage, kale, beets, spinach and peas. All of these vegetables can be ( overwintered ) which means planted in summer or fall and harvested in spring.

Pick your Cabbage !

Organic Vegetable Gardening: Fall Cover Crops

Hello Friends, Do you know the benefits of growing a fall cover crop. If you have a area in your yard where you are not going to grow a Fall crop like potatoes, greens, or garlic. You can plant different types of cover crops in the category of Lequmes. These are plants like peas, beans, clovers, afalfa, and even peanuts.

These cover crops are low cost, easy to maintain and earth friendly. They increase organic matter and available nitrogen and increases earthworms and beneficial microorganisms. Cover crops also provide habitat, nectar and pollen for beneficial insects.

Garden Tips: Deadheading your flowers

Organic Vegetables

Friends, You can prolong the flowering of your favorite plants by a procedure called deadheading.

When blossoms die it gives the plant the idea its job of producing flowers is done. So it stops blooming and puts its energy into setting seeds.

You can trick it into thinking its job is not finished by deadheading--or pinching off the dead blossoms before seeds form.If there are still buds on the stems, just remove the dead flower head.

Ask the Vegetable Gardener you favorite garden questions !

Garden Tips: Attracting Bees to your garden

 

Bumble Bees Nectar

 Hello there, Are you wondering how your garden fruits such as watermelon and cantaloupe are going to get pollinated? Well let the Bumble Bee do all the work in exchange for the food that they need (nectar from the pollen rich flowers. Please read my article on hand pollination on this blog.

Choose blue, purple and yellow: Bees find blue, purple and yellow flowers most appealing. Flat or shallow blossoms, such as daisies, zinnias, asters and Queen Anne's lace, will attract the largest variety of bee. The bee flies from yellow flower to yellow flower and pollinates female flowers that carry the ovary or fruit that we love to eat. The result of a successful pollination is that your watermelons or cantaloupes will start to get bigger and grow each day until they are ready to come off the vine.

Gardening for Beginners : Hand Pollination Cucurbits

Male Flower Stigma

Female Flower Stamen

Hi friends, Did you know that plants like Cucumbers, Melons, and Cantaloupe can be hand pollinated to produce fruit? All of these plants have both male and female flowers on the same vine. Traditionally the pollination is done with insects such as ants or honey bees getting pollen from one flower and spreading it to the next one. Honey bees are doing this unknowingly while they are on a constant search for nectar to take back to there bee colony .

To hand pollinate any of the three vegetables mentioned above. You must find the male and female flowers on the vine. To find the female flower is easy because it has a miniature fruit on the end of the flower. This is called the ovary. In the center of the female flower is the stamen which is the part where the male stigma is rubbed to fertilize the female. Please see( pictures above)

I would be happy to answer any and all questions about fertilization and hand pollination. Visit us here

Garden Tips: Part Two Organic Fertilizers

Beach Sea weed

Hi friends, Fertilizers can be found at the beach ! You can collect fresh seaweed which is a rich source of nutrients for your plants. Wash the seaweed to get rid of  the sea salt. To make fertilizer place the seaweed in a laundry type bag and put into a large pail of water. Add a cupful of molasses to get the solution started and water your plants after the brew has fermented for a few days.

Another fishy solution is fish emulsion ( liquid Fish ) .This solution once diluted with water will help your plants grow. you can apply to your garden vegetables every week or two.

Garden Tips: Part One Fertilizers

Hi there , there are four chemical elements that make up your internal garden plant. number one is Nitrogen which is necessary for vegetative growth.
Second one is Phosphorus which plants need for flowering and fruiting. Third element is Potassium which gives your plants vigor. The last one is Calcium and Trace Minerals . These ( NPK ) are necessary for general health and resilience.

Fertilizing the soil is a big aspect of having a successful vegetable garden all year round. There are various types of fertilizers such as liquid, liquid foliar sprays, dry types (powder) designed around specific types of garden vegetables such as soft fruits and berries or tomato plants or even garden flowers.

Organic Fertilizers can be found online. They should have on the box OMRI certified. OMRI® Listed products undergo a rigorous review to ensure that they comply with organic standards.

Gardening for the beginner:Growing Vegetables from Seed

Seedling Heat Mat

A lot of people shy away from growing their plants from seed because they think that it may be to hard for them. I think it simply is a fear of the unknown. I will attempt to get you through the necessary steps to grow you very own successful vegetable plants starting from seed. The first step is to select a quality organic vegetable seed from your local garden center.
The seeds should display the USDA organic label on the package.You will need a few seedling growing supplies to start your plants off properly. The first item is a seedling heating mat. This mat is necessary because it warms the root area 10 to 20 degrees over room temperatures to improve germination. The organic seeds you selected need the best growing medium possible to grow. You should select seed starting mix which contains Canadian sphagnum peat moss, plug grade perlite, and vermiculite. All of these ingredients provide the optimum environment for seed germination.
The next item necessary is a seedling tray to place your seeds into the growing medium. One smart way is to purchase a small hot house growing kit which comes with all the items necessary for proper growth.
The seedling tray is filled with soil, and in each section a small hole is poked for your seed. When all your seeds are planted into your growing medium you will want to lightly water the soil till moist, but not too damp.
The next item is very important. It is the lighting which simulates the suns vital rays. A good system is the T-5 growing light by Jump Start. You should leave this light on so that when your seedlings start to come up they will get the proper amount of lighting.
Your grow light should be left on for 12 to 14 hours a day to help your young plants thrive and grow. As your plants start to develop its first leaves you will be soon be able to transplant your organic vegetables outside.

Gardening for the beginner: Vegetable Garden Maintenance

Hello there, A very important aspect of vegetable gardening is upkeep or maintenance. You should check your garden every day preferably in the morning when your first wake up. Your plants are constantly growing every single day and different things could be going on with them. An example I sometimes come  across is having a tomato hornworm ( caterpillar ) munching on my tomato plants leaves.

I am an organic gardener so all I do is pluck the worm off my plant and kill it. The result no more leaf eating caterpillar. Garden maintenance consists of checking the growth of your plants, looking for insects, and clearing away dead leaves. If you do this daily your plants will thrive and be healthy and produce.

Gardening for the Beginner: Checking your Soil PH

Hey There,  Are you sometimes puzzled about why a certain plant does not grow where you want it to? You plant Blueberries in this certain spot in your yard and the next thing you notice is that your plant is not growing as well as you hoped or even worse it dies.

The reason more and likely could be your soils condition or pH  level. This describes how acid or akaline your soil make-up is. Certain plants need a more acid like condition like our blueberry plant we just talked about above. There are  inexpensive pH meters that you can buy that will tell you the exact condition of your soil. You would then add Sulfur to lower the pH or add Dolomite Lime to raise it.

Proper soil pH is a factor in determining whether roots can absorb and process nutrients available in the soil.

Gardening for the beginner : Container Tomato plant care 1

Hi there, who does not like to eat big red juicy tomatoes with your sandwiches or salads. I love growing tomatoes, and have been doing so for years now. To start your young start (plant from nursery) off right prepare your soil for the arrival of your new plant.

I mix into my soil organic powder fertilizer with a NPK( this stands for nitrogen, phosphorus,and potassium ) of 4-6-2. This is a all purpose fertilizer that is ph balanced to counteract acidic soil conditions. It contains blood meal, fish bone meal, Langbeinite, soft rock phospate and humic acid. please contact me at our website to learn how to get this brand of organic fertilizer.

To plant your plant dig hole in center of your pot. (please make sure that your growing pot is at least 25 inches in diameter.) All tomato plants grow extensive roots which need the room to expand and give you a strong healthy plant. Place your young plant into the hole and cover the root ball all the way up to the first new leaves of the stem. This will cause your plant to grow additional roots along the stem.

Visit us and learn more about Growing Organic

Gardening for the beginner: Garden tip 5

Friends, Do you drink coffee ? Great your plants do to ! let the coffee cool and dilute it with water and give your garden plants a drink--they will appreciate the pick me up.

Here is another tip that i use in my garden. I keep the egg shells from my morning breakfast , rinse with water and let dry. I then crush the egg shells and place into what ever plant i have. These egg shells are a great source of calcium for your plants. This is one of many extra trace minerals your plants need to thrive !

Gardening for the beginner: Strawberries Tips 2

New daughter plant on runner

Hello, Did you ever wonder what are those long running stems on you strawberries plants? They are called runners. Your plants are trying to reproduce themselves! At the tip of the runner is another strawberry plant. You can help create another new strawberry plant by covering this tip end with soil and expose only the green leaf part poking thru the soil. The runner will take root and grow into a separate new plant from the mother plant.

Strawberries Tips 1

Hi friends, Have you wondered about trying to grow your own plump, juicy, red strawberries? Well  you can do it ! The First thing you will need to do is decide on what variety you would like to grow. I am currently growing Ozark Beauties which are medium size and grow quite well in a sunny location. You can find the type you would like to grow by going to our website and clicking on Burpee or Cooks garden product lines.

I get bare root starts from my garden suppliers. I always get ever bearing plants which produce to yearly crops in early summer and in the fall. Another variety is called June bearing which gives you a big harvest during late spring to early summer.

Youve picked your favorite type, now it time to select your growing pot size and shape. Fill your pot with organic potting soil about six inches from the top and press a hole in the center of the pot. Select the root end of your plant and place into the hole. Strawberries come with long roots so plant your plants to cover all of the roots right up to the crown or (the part where the stem meets the root ball). Water and Fertilize with dry organic powder fertilizer and enjoy !


Visit us here at Grow Organic Vegetable Gardening

Garden Tips Series 4

Hi there , there are four chemical elements that make up your internal garden plant. Number one is Nitrogen which is necessary for vegetative growth.
Second one is Phosphorus which plants need for flowering and fruiting. The third element is Potassium which gives your plants vigor. The last one is Calcium and Trace Minerals . These are necessary for general health and resilience.

Fertilizing the soil is a big aspect of having a successful vegetable garden all year round. There are various types of fertilizers such as liquid, liquid foliar sprays, dry types designed around specific types of garden vegetables such as soft fruits and berries or tomato plants or even garden flowers. All of these types of fertilizers and many other gardening how tos will be talked about in my Gardening Tips and Grow Organic Vegetable Blog.

Gardening for Beginners : Transplanting Potted Plants

Hello everyone, a lot of people are not sure as to why they should transplant their potted plants. The reason is that as time goes by perhaps 6 months to a year your plant reaches it maximum growth. Your plant is a living thriving being and needs constant food and minerals to keep growing and producing fruit or flowers as the case may be. As your plant reaches maturity inside it pot the roots use up all of the space available to expand and grow. This causes your plant basically stop growing and producing more and more leaves, flowers, and fruit. If transplanting does not take place your plant will not be able to take up vital nutrients and water because of the compact state their in.This is the reason for transplanting you plants.

The first gardening how to step in transplanting your potted plants is to find the garden planter or pot that you desire. The key here is to select a pot that either has pre- drilled holes or a plain pot where you can drill your own holes with a knife or electric drill. You may prefer to add small pebbles such as river rock at the bottom so that the soil does not compact over your holes, and you get the necessary drainage of water out. Garden pots come in all colors and sizes under the rainbow. You should select a new pot based on you old plants roots.

The second step to do is to remove your plant root ball from the existing pot by using a knife and running it along the outside diameter of the soil ball in the pot. Once this is complete apply a gentle tap on the bottom to your pot to loosen up the root ball even further. Gently lift out the plant from the pot and examine the compacted roots. You must free up this existing root ball by gently pulling and separating the roots all along the bottom of your plant so that you can see free roots dangling from the bottom of your plant.

The third step is to get your newly selected pot with the new drainage hole and fill it with new
organic potting soil about half way in the pot. You don't have to compact it down. It will settle on it's own.Take your existing plant and place it in the new pot and make sure it is properly centered it the transplanting pot. Cover the exposed root ball with the remainder of your potting soil up to the crown or stem of your plant. You can now pat down the soil a bit. Your plant is now ready for a cool drink of water! Pour enough water in the pot so that you see it drain down through the drain holes on the bottom . This indicates that your plant is okay and ready to grow and thrive until it out grows it's new home.

Garden Tip Series 3

Hello Everyone, Are you ready to take care of your plants in this summer hot weather? Our warm summer months can put a strain on your plants. The sun can cause your plants to try out much quicker than normal. A good rule for vegetable gardening for beginners is to check your soil everyday. The soil should not be dry to the touch. One method you can try is to obtain and old 2 liter plastic coke bottle and rinse it out. Fill the bottle with water, then turn it upside down and place the open end down in the soil. Your plant will take a drink as needed and all you have to do is refill the bottle when empty. This works great for container plants on your porch or patio !

Garden Tips Series 2

Gardening is so much fun ! you can plant flowers of all colors and types to fit your personality. Starting a vegetable gardening is a great way to supplement your groceries with fresh organic fruits and vegetables. Did you know that a lot of food is grown just for quantity, just to support the fast food industry giants like Mc Donalds and Burger King. These large companies are major buyers and users of tons of tomatoes and potatoes and corn.
A lot of these fruits apples included are mass produces and forced to ripen with the use of gases and artificial lamps. Is this what you want ? I sure don't. Organic gardening is the process of using natural processes with quality soil to grow fresh vegetables that you will be proud of. The best type of soil to use for your gardening is Compost. What is Compost? It's soil that has been created with natural ingredients such as grass or straw with natural animal waste such as chicken manure .
The soil also has Vermiculite and peat. These ingredients help to keep the soil loose and light. Other natural additives can be bat quano, and forest humus. The key idea is to use natural medium from the earth without adding any chemical fertilizers.
Please visit us at www.groworganicvegetablegardening.com to learn more.

Gardening for beginners: Solar Fountains

Greetings fellow Gardeners. Do you love Vegetable gardening or flower gardening? Well if you love being outside with your plants as much as I do, you will want to spruce up your garden with a decorative fountain. Grow organic has hundreds of fountains to spark your fancy. One way to go is to select one of our solar panel fountains which is perfect for our upcoming warm weather of summer. You don't need to look for an electrical outlet with these fountains. All you have to do is place your fountain out in the Sun on your patio or yard and enjoy !

We welcome all comments and questions !

Garden Tips Series 1

Friends, would you like to plant your own vegetables? Do you want fresh, healthy, organically grown vegetables for your family? Our vegetables are grown for speed and abundance. They are sprayed with harmful insecticides and other chemicals to make them bigger with less nutritional value. Organically grown vegetables do not use any pesticides for insect control and they are feed with natural solutions such as chicken manure, worm casings, and peat. Our grow organic vegetable gardener can help you with answers to your garden questions.

He can answer these important questions:
1. What type of potting soil should i be using ?
2. What are the best vegetable seeds to plant?
3. Can i start my vegetable garden from seeds or should i buy starts at my local nursery?

My friends the Organic Vegetable Gardener is waiting to help you ! send him an email at
ogv@groworganicvegetablegardening.com